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10 April 2005 Tottenham 1 (Defoe 42) Newcastle 0 Spurs move into seventh place after a narrow, yet deserved win against Newcastle. A scrappy first half was only enlivened late on when Spurs went ahead, courtesy of a helping hand by Newcastle keeper Steve Harper. His attampted clearance from a backpass struck Simon Davies on the edge of the area and fell perfectly for Jermain Defoe to bundle the ball past the keeper and in. Early in the second half, Spurs did their best to repay the compliment when keeper Paul Robinson tapped the ball to Ledley King only for the defender to turn his back and allow James Milner to nip in, however his chip toward an empty net from 25 yards drifted wide. Attendance : 35,885 Assist : n/a Everton 4 (Arteta 7, Cahill 47 fk, 54, Vaughan 87) Crystal Palace 0 Everton consolidate fourth place after a thumping win against Crystal Palace who remain in the bottom three after a history making encounter at Goodison. It began well for the home side as Mikel Arteta netted his first Everton goal with a curling free kick from the edge of the area, however it was early in the second half when they really took command. The lead was doubled when Marcus Bent's cross was controlled by Tim Cahill and then smashed into the roof of the net and seven minutes later, Cahill did it again as he was left totally unmarked at the far post to head home Kevin Kilbane's cross. Everton's fourth goal, scored by James Vaughan, set a new record for the youngest Prem goalscorer at 16 years and 271 days as well as him being Everton's youngest ever Prem player and scorer. Kilbane was again provider as he near post ball in was finished by the youngster. Attendance : 35,885 Assists : n/a, Bent, Kilbane, Kilbane Aston Villa 1 (Vassell 27) West Brom (Robinson 90) West Brom moved out of the bottom three after a last gasp equaliser gave them a point in the Birmingham derby at Villa Park. The hosts went ahead when a thumping header from Liam Ridgewell was turned onto the bar by keeper Russell Hoult and nodded in from close range by Darius Vassell, however things took a turn for the worst for Ridgewell on the hour when he clashed with Jonathon Greening and the pair locked heads after the whistle had sounded. In truth, no-one was injured or any serious damage done, however in this day and age, a red card is almost inevitable and it duly arrived for both. The leveller came in stoppage time as West Brom pushed everyone forward, a cross from Ricardo Scimeca was helped on at the near post by a defender and Paul Robinson headed it firmly home at the far post for his first ever goal for the club. Attendance : 39,402 Red Cards : Ridgewell 61 (Aston Villa), Greening 61 (West Brom) Assists : n/a, n/a 9 April 2005 Norwich 2 (Ashton 55, McKenzie 66) Manchester United 0 Bottom club Norwich stunned Man United with a deserved 2-0 win at Carrow Road, making United's quest to grab second place even harder after Arsenal's earlier win. After a dull first half, Norwich came out after the break as though their top flight lives depended on it and were two goals up within twenty minutes. The first came from a free kick taken by David Bentley which was superbly headed home by Dean Ashton and the second was even better as Darren Huckerby broke on the left, played in Ashton whose cross was perfect for Leon McKenzie whose side footed volley gave keeper Tim Howard no chance. Tempers flared as the game progressed whilst United struggled to create anything clear cut up front with only a cross-shot from Ruud Van Naistelrooy which was almost prodded in by Paul Scholes causing any raised blood pressures. In stoppage time, Wayne Rooney produced a fine save from Robert Green, but in truth it was one of the few shots the home keeper had to deal with all day. Attendance : 25,522 Assists : Bentley (fk), Ashton Blackburn 3 (Pedersen 11, Jakobsson 48 og, Reid 55) Southampton 0 Southampton remain just outside of the relegation zone after a heavy defeat at improving Blackburn. The hosts were ahead early on when a long ball from Aaron Mokoena found Morton Gamst Pedersen on the left. He then cut inside and fired into the net from a tight angle. The game was effectively killed off early in the second half when Rovers netted twice inside the opening ten minutes. They doubled the lead when Steven Reid's cross was diverted past his own keeper by Andreas Jakobsen and then Reid added a third himself when a near post corner wasn't cleared and after the ball was fired back in by Dominic Matteo, he was on hand to tap home. Attendance : 20,726 Assists : Mokoena, Matteo Bolton 3 (Okocha 13 pen, Nolan 33, Giannakopoulos 54) Fulham 1 (Boa Morte 47) Bolton kept their Champions League dreams alive with a comfortable win over Fulham who are still not totally safe from the drop. Things began badly for the visitors when they were reduced to ten men after former Bolton man Claus Jensen handled Bruno N'Gotty's header on the line. The red card was followed by Jay-Jay Okocha side-footing in the resulting penalty. The lead was doubled when a long pass from Stelios Giannakopolous was nodded across goal by Kevin Davies for Kevin Nolan to nod the ball over the keeper and in. Early in the second half, Fulham pulled one back when Andy Cole's cross was converted at the far post by Luis Boa Morte, however the two goal cushion was soon restored when Nolan's through ball was poked in by Giannakopolous. Attendance : 25,493 Red Card : Jensen 12 (Fulham) Assists : n/a, Davies, Cole, Nolan Chelsea 1 (Drogba 82) Birmingham 1 (Pandiani 65) Chelsea lost ground at the top after needing a late goal to snatch a point against a resolute Birmingham side. Steve Bruce's team had the audacity to take the lead midway through the second half when Jermaine Pennant's free kick was headed back across goal by Matthew Upson for Walter Pandiani to drill the ball home via John Terry on the line and the underside of the bar. The proverbial Alamo-style assault followed and eventually the Champions elect grabbed a point when Frank Lampard played in Didier Drogba to slot in the equaliser. Chelsea's lead at the top is now reduced to a paltry eleven points! Attendance : 42,031 Assists : Upson, Lampard Manchester City 1 (Musampa 90) Liverpool 0 Liverpool blew the chance to go fourth after a lacklustre display at Man City saw them lose to a last minute strike. The goal came somewhat out of the blue as Lee Croft's cross was met on the edge of the area by Kiki Musampa whose controlled first time volley found the bottom corner. Attendance : 47,203 Assist : Croft Middlesbrough 0 Arsenal 1 (Pires 73) Arsenal refuse to give up their title easily after a narrow win at Middlesbrough who maintain hopes of a second successive season in Europe. The only goal came late on as Cesc Fabregas looked to burst into the area, a clearance hit another Boro defender and fell perfectly for Robert Pires to slot in. Attendance : 33,874 Assist : n/a Portsmouth 4 (Yakubu 3, Stone 20, Kamara 83, Lua Lua 90) Charlton 2 (Fortune 22, Murphy 45) New Portsmouth boss Alain Perrin got off to a winning start against Charlton, although only after watching his players blow a two goal first half lead. It was a game of headed goal, starting with Yakubu who nodded in Steve Stone's cross at the far post inside three minutes. Stone then doubled the lead when he glance in Patrik Berger's free kick, however almost straight from the kick off, a similar free kick at the other end by Danny Murphy saw Jonathon Fortune head powerfully in to half the lead. Murphy then left the keeper staring at thin air on the stroke of half time as his chipped free kick found the net from 25 yards to level the scores up. Pompey regained the lead with seven minutes left as Lomana Lua-Lua's near post cross was met by the head of Diomansy Kamara and in stoppage time, Lua-Lua added a fourth having been sent clear by Yakubu. Attendance : 20,108 Assists : Stone, Berger (fk), Murphy (fk), n/a, Lua-Lua, Yakubu Gary Dowden - Joint Admin Topica Premier-L list http://www.topica.com/lists/premier-L Leeds United and Scotland and proud of it http://www.peanutsfan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/footiemad The Unofficial Premiership Site |